Representation and Institutional Design

by Rebekah L. Herrick

Overview

An enduring question for most nations has been how to best represent their citizens and their needs. This is a complex issue as there is no universally accepted definition of good representation. Representation and Institutional Design addresses the issues of institutions and representation by examining how variation in institutional design can affect many aspects of how legislators represent their constituents. It does so by examining the relationships between legislative design (electoral laws, term limits, professionalism, and district size and magnitude) and many aspects of representation (symbolic, service, and policy representation, as well as legislators' incentives to represent). A key finding is that each aspect of professionalism has a unique set of effects on representation. Legislators with staff have closer relationship with their constituents than others. Legislators with other legislative resources engage in more symbolic and service representation but not policy representation. And legislators in institutions with greater capacity were similar to others in their representative style. Findings also indicate that term limits weaken relationships between legislators and constituents and electoral laws, and district size and magnitude have some but limited effects. This is an important study not only because of the importance of representation but also because of the dearth of research on how institutional design affects representation in state legislatures.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780739150672
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	03/31/2011
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Rebekah L. Herrick is professor of political science at Oklahoma State University.

Table of Contents

List of Tables and Figures ix

Preface and Acknowledgments xi

1 Institutions and Representation 1

2 Institutional Effects on the Incumbency Advantage 25

3 Institutional Design and Ambition 43

4 Institutional Design and Role Orientation 57

5 Institutional Design and Symbolic Representation 77

6 Institutional Design, Legislators' Information, and Perceptual Accuracy 99

7 Institutional Design and Substantive Representation 115

8 Conclusion 133

Appendix A State Legislators and Their Districts 151

Appendix B Descriptive Statistics of Variables 157

References 159

Index 167

Editorial Reviews

This book's focus is solely on US state legislatures. Herrick (Oklahoma State Univ.) begins with a nuanced discussion of how professionalism, election laws, term limits, and district features may affect symbolic representation, service to constituents, and promotion of particular policies. Political ambition may be affected by institutional design and, therefore, may have both direct and indirect impacts on representational style. Models are then tested through a survey of state legislators in 26 states. The survey questionnaire is helpfully included as an appendix. Unfortunately, basic overviews of institutional design features and summaries for each state or groupings of similar states are not included. Instead, the bulk of the book consists of variable descriptions and regression analysis discussion. The robustness of the regression findings are difficult to evaluate because each model includes over 30 independent variables with individual, district, and state-level characteristics. Potentially intriguing findings about legislators' perceptual accuracy and differences in the use of communication tools are somewhat buried within the analysis. The author concludes each results chapter with recommendations on ways to improve democratic representation, which should be viewed as starting points for further research.

Choice Reviews

In the tradition of Malcolm Jewell and Alan Rosenthal, Rebekah Herrick investigates the complexities of representation at the state legislative level. This is an innovative effort to untangle the effects of various institutional and electoral arrangements on legislative behavior. It is an ambitious study.

Gary Moncrief

Dr. Herrick's book is an important contribution to the discipline's understanding of how representation by state legislators, in its various forms, is influenced by state legislative institutions. We know that the rules and structures of an institution have an impact on individual behavior. Dr. Herrick's study is an excellent empirical test of how the rules and structures actually influence the representative style of legislators.

Sam Fisher

This book's focus is solely on US state legislatures. Herrick (Oklahoma State Univ.) begins with a nuanced discussion of how professionalism, election laws, term limits, and district features may affect symbolic representation, service to constituents, and promotion of particular policies. Political ambition may be affected by institutional design and, therefore, may have both direct and indirect impacts on representational style. Models are then tested through a survey of state legislators in 26 states. The survey questionnaire is helpfully included as an appendix. Unfortunately, basic overviews of institutional design features and summaries for each state or groupings of similar states are not included. Instead, the bulk of the book consists of variable descriptions and regression analysis discussion. The robustness of the regression findings are difficult to evaluate because each model includes over 30 independent variables with individual, district, and state-level characteristics. Potentially intriguing findings about legislators' perceptual accuracy and differences in the use of communication tools are somewhat buried within the analysis. The author concludes each results chapter with recommendations on ways to improve democratic representation, which should be viewed as starting points for further research.

Choice

This book's focus is solely on US state legislatures. Herrick (Oklahoma State Univ.) begins with a nuanced discussion of how professionalism, election laws, term limits, and district features may affect symbolic representation, service to constituents, and promotion of particular policies. Political ambition may be affected by institutional design and, therefore, may have both direct and indirect impacts on representational style. Models are then tested through a survey of state legislators in 26 states. The survey questionnaire is helpfully included as an appendix. Unfortunately, basic overviews of institutional design features and summaries for each state or groupings of similar states are not included. Instead, the bulk of the book consists of variable descriptions and regression analysis discussion. The robustness of the regression findings are difficult to evaluate because each model includes over 30 independent variables with individual, district, and state-level characteristics. Potentially intriguing findings about legislators' perceptual accuracy and differences in the use of communication tools are somewhat buried within the analysis. The author concludes each results chapter with recommendations on ways to improve democratic representation, which should be viewed as starting points for further research.

CHOICE